Journal box lid



Dec. 3, 1940. G. B. DOREY JOURNAL BOX LID Filed July 27, 1937 3 Sheets- Sheet 1 Q INVENTOR.

Dec. 3, 1940. DOREY 2,223,340

JOURNAL BOX LID Filed July 27, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

y alo Dec. 3, 1940.

e. B. DOREY JOURNAL BOX LID Filed July 27, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE 3 2,223,340 l V JOURNAL BOX LID" George B. Dorey, Westmount, Quebec, Canada Application July 27, 1937, Serial-No. 155,977

Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in journal box lids. 1

An object of my invention is to provide a two piece lid assembly of the spring actuated type 5 l which may be readily assembled withoutthe use of special tools or power machinery .to tension the spring.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for tensioning a lid spring in two easy stages by independently applying force to the respective relatively long ends of a double torsion spring. 7 r I I Another further object of my invention is to provide a two piece-lid assembly of the type havl5- ing-a pressure retaining spring associated with a lever hood and lid insuch a'manner that a hood retaining pintle will Ice-maintained against axial movement by'the lid proper and wherein the spring will operate to positively maintain the lid and hood in operative relation. v

A more particular object of my invention is to provide means whereby a spring actuated two part lid assembly will have the spring pressure retained in combination with one of the parts of the assembly while theother part is being inserted or removed;

My invention furthrresides in certain other improvements and details of parts such as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter and claimed. For further comprehension of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings wherein: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a journal box showing my improved lid applied thereto. 2 is a vertical end view of the lid shown in Fig. 1, and as viewed in said figure from left to right. Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a journal box'showing the hood in the open position and the spring indicated by full lines in the fully released position. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an elevational view of ,the structure shown in Fig. 3 and as viewed from left to right. Fig. 6. is a View of the lid in fully open position with the actuating spring tensioned and the tail ends of the spring disposed above the axial path of the lid retaining pintle. Fig. 'lis a-sectional plan view of the lid proper as shown detached from the hood and on a line corresponding substantially to a line l-fl of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken through the lid assembly and as viewed on a line corresponding substantially to a line 8-8 of Fig. 6. 3 Fig. 9 is a vertical ele- 55 vational View of a journal box and lid showing a modified former" my invention. Fig10 is an endelevation'al view; of the structure shown in, Fig. 9 and as viewed from left to right.

Referring first to the, structure shown in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive, A indicates the journal box, B the hood or lever,;C the lid, D the spring, E the hood retaining, pintle, and F the lid retaining pintle. 4 i i l The journal box A includes, a body portion l0 having an opening ll andabove said opening thereis an, upstanding hinge lug 12 having a plurality ofpfaces as indicated at l3, l4 and I5 respectively. Extending through the said lug is a circular opening l6 for the reception of the pintle E and said lug immediately above the opening is provided with a channel shaped groove l1 in which the top of the lid is adapted to fit.

The hood or lever B includes'an upper housing section I8 having side walls ill-l9 adapted to lie-on each side of the hinge lug l2 and extending outwardly from said walls are integral hub like ferrules 20 which constitute hinge eyes, each said hub at its outer end presenting an opening 2|. facing towards the center of the hub assembly, said opening being preferably formed by a sector of the hub being cutaway. The member B is formed with a body section merging into a pair of arms 22-e-22 which extend downwardly to a location approximately midway of the opening H and are there formed with slotted openings 23, said openings onthe respective arms being disposed in .transversely aligned relation for the reception of thepintle F, Intermediate the pintles 'E and F, the hood or lever B is formed with a recess of arcuate formation as indicated at 24 within which the coiled portions 25 of spring D are adapted to seat and within which the said spring is adapted to have limited turning movement.

, .The SpringJD, which is formed of spring wire, includes a head 26 formed in the nature of a loop having a roller 21. associated therewith and the oppositeend of the spring includes the two ends of the spring which are brought down in spaced relation on each side of the coil portion 25 to present two tail ends as indicatedat 28, said ends being preferably disposed in parallel relation when in normal released position as best indicated in Fig. 4. Said respective tail ends in the released position of the spring lie substantially in the path of abutments 29 which are formed on the ends of the respective arms 22 and in order to impart tension in thespring, the tail ends of the springs are flexed around the inclined side faces 30' of the arms 22 and snapped into position above the abutments 29 and in seating relation with said abutment as shown in Fig. 3.

With the tail ends of the spring seated on the abutments it will be readily appreciated that the coils of the torsion spring will be slightly wound up and the roller will therefore be firmly held against the lug bearing faces. Said tail ends of the spring in being moved to tensed position longer than the head portion 26 of the spring,v

iv hence the tensing of the spring .by individual movement of the respective tail ends" is easily carried out. The tensing of the spring being carried out in two distinct operations necessitates only-overcoming one half of the springs capacity atone time and in the present. instance, the tail end portions being substantially twice the length of the head portion, theforce necessary to flex one of the individual tail ends is only approximately onefourth of the effort necessary to tension the spring by applying force at the roller 21. The long tail ends further providethe necessary flexibility to spring the tail ends from one side of the abutment to the other.

With the lid assembly in closed position, the roller 27 makes contact-with: face I3 of the lug and when the lid is in normal open position the roller contacts face l4 of the lug. Contact betweenface l5 and the roller is made'whenever the lid is opened to its fullest possible extent.

In order to have the pressure of the spring exert a closing action on the lid when the lid isin closed position the roller 21 engages the face l3 at a short distance above theaxis of the pintle E.

The lid proper 0 includes. a body portion 34 having an upstanding bracket portion formed with an opening 36 adapted to register with openings 23 to the extent of permitting the insertion of pintle E through said respective open ings. On each side .of the bracket portion 35 there is provided an abutment 31 disposed onithe lid and lying substantially at the same radial distance from the pivot 'E' as the .axisof. pivot. F. Each abutment 31 presents a seat 38 lying substantially at the same level as the lower face of the opening 36, said sea-t being adapted to have. the related tail end 28 seat thereon when the hood and lid are in operative relation.

At its upper end, the lid proper is formed with upward extensions 39 which are adapted to ex tend Within the ,openings2l of the hood. "Said extensions, 39 are'spaced apart a sufficient dis tance to straddle the length of the; pintle E in order to prevent endwise movement of said pine tle when the lid and hood are inoperative relation. The extensions 39 fit loosely in the openings 2i and thus permit of a limited pivotal movement of the lid about its pivotal connection F.

. With the spring tensed as shown in Fig. .6, the tail ends 28 of said spring are out of the path of axial movement of the. pintle F thereby permitting the latter to be inserted or withdrawn lengthwise from its operative position. withoutinterference with the spring tail ends. After the The flexing of the pintle F has been applied the tail ends 28 are displaced from the abutments 29 and snap into seating relation with seats 38 of abutments 3'! thereby transferring the pressure of the spring from the hood to the lid proper, the parts then assuming the position indicated by the full lines in Fig. 1. Said tail ends 28, when in engagement with abutments 31 effectively block endwise movement of the pintle F. The tension of the spring is normally sufiicient to maintain the tail ends against the ends of the pintle F but in order to positively maintain said ends against lateral displacement there are provided walls which lie adjacent to said tails and effectively prevent outward lateral displacement of the same.

The abutment 37 and wall 40 are preferably united man integral angle shaped bracket portion rising upwardly from the body of the lid,

said angle shaped bracket having a cutaway portion 4| correspondingly in shape to the circular contour of the pintle F, thereby permitting axial; movement, of the latter member beyondand past theassociated'wall 40. p p l The assembly of the lid "and hood with the spring is preferably carried out in the follow: ing manner; the hood B is first mounted on the lug by means of the pintle E, the'torsion. spring D being loosely mounted in the housingpart of the hood, and the hoodis tilted back until such time as the housing contacts the rear end of the lug as shown in Fig. 3.

The next operation involves the tensioning cf the spring by springing the tails 28 into position over the abutments 29- inthe manner heretofore explained. The lid proper is next placed in position by inserting the extensions. 39 in the openings 2| and thereafter connecting the hood and lid through the medium of pintle F, after which the tail ends of the spring are displaced from seating relation on abutments 29and snap into position on seats 38 of the lid-,- thereby preventing axial movement of the pintle F and securely maintaining the parts in operativerelation. 'The transfer of the spring tension from the hood abutment to the lid abutment operates to yieldingly force the hood and. lid apart to theextent permitted by the slot 23 and thereby eliminates undue rattling of the parts when the lid assembly is in open position. The loose connection provided by the slot 23 permits a limited degree of universal movement between the hood and. the lid whereby the lid is rendered self-adjusting to compensate for variations, in manufacture of either the box or thellid parts. 7 T

The removal of the lid proper iscarried 'out by reversing the. operations aboved'escribed the transfer of the spring tension from the lid. to the hood abutment being readily carriedout by meansof a suitable wrench orgripping tool or by the insertion of asuitable "Ievering toollu nder the tails of the spring. In the course of changing a lid proper, such as sometimes be comes necessary due towarping of the parts; it will be observed that my improvedconstruction enables the changing operation tobe quickly carried out withou'tt-he necessity of releasing the spring tension. I

In the modification shown in Figs; 9 and 10, I80 indicates the journal box, Hi! the hood, N2 the hood pintle, I93 the torsion spring, Mil the lid proper .and i015 the lid pintle.- r M t The lug :of the journal .1101; is indic'ateda-t 186. The hood .Hll includes an upper housing portion 101 having laterally extending integral'hin'gefert'ion before' the lidis' as'sem bledand springing the tail' ends-into engagement with the hdod, saidhoodhavinga;-- seating abutment disposed beyond the'o'pening for the lidpintIe ancl with which the tail ends of the spring are adapted to temporarily engage until such timeas-th'e lid and hood assembly is eflec'ted through the medium of the lid connecting pintle after th-e'taji-l ends of the spring are-moved from th'e tempQrary abutment-andin Moekingre mticrmwitti respect to thelid pintle. ,7 i v e 5 In: commnation,v a. journal box havinga;

hingelug; a tW0- piece: lid: essembiy: including a spring retainer pimiteifid fihe lug and-a; lid' pr'oper pivdted to the retainer, said lid being mounted for'glimi ted pivotal: movement; said retainer: and

lid being formed: of sepamate pa-nts; a: pint1e-ex-.

tending threugh the retainer and hinge-lug; said lid having portiens' interlocking with the-retainer to li mit pivotal movement of the l id with respect to "the! retainer, said interlocking portions of the lid lyin'g adjacent the'ends ofthe re'tainerpintle 10 movement of said p'intle.

to prevent endwise GEORGE-'13; DOREY;

trally disposed loop rules I08, each formed at its outer .end witha cutaway portion presenting an opening I89." The hood has an elongated body portion IIU extending1towardsthe center of the lid assembly and there terminating in apair, of arms III- 4H,, said arms being ,disposedjn spaced relation and having at their outer end enlarged portions H3 formed with openings H4 through which the lid pintle, I65 is adapted to extend. The body portion; is reinforced by means of vertical ribs H5 and outwardly of saidribs there are laterally extending jhollow'trunnion portions H6, which.

in efiect constitute extensions of the enlarged portions H3. Said trunnions have bearing faces H1 and H8 disposed at different levels for the purpose as will hereinafter be pointed out.

The lid proper I84 has extensions H9 at each. end thereof which seat in the openings I09 of the hood and at its central portion the lid has a bearing section I20 formed with an opening I2I, the latter being adapted to register with openings H4 of the hood when the parts are in operative relation. The lid pintle I05 is adapted to extend through the openings H4 and I2I to .maintain the hood and lid proper in operative relatior'n The spring 33 is preferably formed of a heavy Wire having a pair of coil portions I22 with a cenportion I23 which forms a head for the spring, said-head having a roller I24 associated therewith. The respective ends of the spring extend downwardly presenting two tail ends I25 which are spaced apart and lie at the outer sides of the coil portions I22. The spring is positioned between the lug and hood with the roller I24 bearing against the lug I06 and the tension inthe spring is applied by individually springing the respective tail ends I25 to seat on the face III of the hood member. With the tail ends of the spring seated on the faces H'I said portions of the spring are clear of the openings H4 and I2I and the spring ends are retained in such position until the pintle I05 has been inserted in place after which the individual ends of the spring are displaced from the upper faces I II and are caused to assume a seat on faces I IS. The ends of the spring when in contact with lower faces H8 lie adjacent the ends of pintle Hi5 andeffectively block endwise movement of the latter member. The tail ends of the spring are effectively guarded against outward lateral displacement by means of walls I26 which lie adjacent to the tail ends when the latter are resting on the faces I I8 of the hood.

In this embodiment of my invention, the lid is permitted a limited degree of universal movement to the extent permitted by the play in the pins and openings, which in normal circumstances is suflicient for all practical considerations. The tensional force of the spring which is exerted at substantially the center of the lid operates to maintain the lid firmly against the opening.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a journal box having a hinge lug; a two piece lid assembly carried by the box, said assembly including a hood pivoted to the lug and a lid proper pivoted to the hood, said hood andlid being formed of separate parts; a pintle for securing the hood to the lug; a pintle for securing the lid to the hood; said lid having portions adapted to lie adjacent the ends of the hood pintle to prevent endwise movement of said pintle, said portions of the lid being interlocked with the hood to limit pivotal movement between the hood and lid; and a spring interposed between the lug and the hood, said spring having a coil portion bearing against the hood and having a head portion bearing against the lug and having tail ends extending towards the central part of the lid assembly to lie adjacent the respective endsof thepintle connecting the hood and lid and secure the pintle against endwise movement.

2. In combination, a journal box having a hinge lug; a two piece lid assembly carried by the box, said assembly including a hood pivoted to the lug and a lid proper pivoted to the hood; a pintle for securing the lid proper to the hood; a

torsion spring between the hood and the lug, said spring having a coil portion and arms leading from saidcoil portion in opposite directions, one of said arms being adapted to react against the lug and the other of said arms being adapted to be moved in a coil winding direction to tension the spring, said last named arm being in the form of two tail ends; an abutment on the hood adapted to temporarily maintain the tail ends in spring tensioning position, said tail ends when in contact with the said abutment permitting assembly of the hood and lid proper by the insertion of the lid pintle; and a secondary abutment on the lid proper adapted to form a seat for the tail ends after the lid proper is in position with the lid pintle applied, said tail ends when in engagement with the secondary abutment being adapted to block endwise movement of the lid pintle.

3. In combination, a journal box having a hinge lug and a two piece lid assembly including a hood pivoted to the lug and a lid proper pivoted to the hood, said hood and lid having transversely aligned openings; a pintle adapted to extend through said respective openings; a torsion spring interposed between said hood and lug, said spring having a coil portion bearing on the hood and oppositely extending arms leading from said coil portion and adapted to respectively engage with the lug and lid assembly, said last named arm being in the form of a pair of ends spaced apart and adapted to bear on the lid proper and secure the lid connecting pintle against endwise movement; and abutment means on the hood adapted to temporarily receive the lid engaging arm of the spring and maintain said arm in a position above the lid pintle, in which position of the spring ends assembly or disassembly of the lid proper with respect to the hood may be efieoted; and means on the lid proper adapted to lie outwardly of the spring ends when in operative relation and prevent outward movement thereof.

4. In combination, a journal box having a hinge lug associated therewith and having a two piece lid assembly including a hood pivoted to the lug and a lid proper pivoted to the hood, said hood and lid having transversely aligned openings adjacent the central part of the lid; a pintle adapted to extend through said respective openings and maintain the hood and'lid in operative relation; a torsion spring interposed between the hood and lug, said spring including a coil portion adapted to bear on the hood and oppositely extending arms leading therefrom and adapted to respectively coact with the lug and with abutment means adjacent the central portion of the lid assembly, said last named arm including a pair of tail ends spaced apart and adapted to straddle the pintle connecting the hood and lid when the partsare in operative relation and prevent endwise movement of the said pintle; said spring being aadpted to be tensioned by moving the tail ends in a coil winding direc- 

